PhillyClout Team

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine came to the University of Pennsylvania this afternoon hoping to fire up the generation of new voters who elected President Obama two years ago, ahead of the Nov. 2 mid-term elections. But Gov. Rendell nearly stole the show while introducing Kaine to a room of about 150 students and organized labor members when he claimed the Republican Party is being taken over by "wackos."

As proof, Rendell cited a Republican push to hold hearings on the section of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that grants citizenship to people born in this country, continuing doubts among the party's voters that Obama was born in this country and claims from GOP officials that laid-off workers would rather stay on unemployment than take new jobs.

“It’s the party that’s slowly but surely being taken over by wackos," Rendell said, drawing laughter and cheers from the crowd. "“We’re going to turn the reins of Congress over to the people who are more and more dominated by the wacko wing? Of course not. So we have a lot to sell. We haven’t done a good job selling it."

Rendell and Kaine argued that federal stimulus spending criticized by the GOP to attack Democratic candidates has created and saved jobs in Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. Rendell accused Republicans of wanting the economy to continue faltering. "They want to use it as an election issue all the way up to 2012," Rendell said. "That’s destructive. It’s unfair. And frankly, it’s outrageous."